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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Save Biking and Walking

On Thursday, February 2, the House Transportation Committee will vote on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill that eliminates crucial funds for biking and walking.

This long-awaited multi year transportation bill eliminates the two largest programs that fund biking and walking infrastructure—Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Without these programs, communities all over the country will lose resources to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make biking and walking safe and accessible in communities across the country.

Top Ten Problems with the bill in priority order:

Transportation Enhancements is gone.

Safe Routes to School is gone.

The Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program (CMAQ) is less likely to support pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements because air quality is no longer the operative measure.

States are no longer required to maintain safe bridge access for bicycles.

Placeholder for what’s wrong with the planning language.

Rails to Trails are no longer eligible for funding under the Surface Transportation program.

Pedestrian and bicycle coordinators in state DOTs are eliminated.

Pedestrian, bicycle and Enhancements clearinghouses gone.

Eliminates the requirement that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled.”

Eliminates language that specifically includes traffic calming and improvements for ped-bike safety as eligible HSIP projects.

We can’t let this bill pass.

On Thursday, the Committee will vote on an amendment to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking.

People from all over the country are working together to ask members of the House Transportation Committee to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking. Here’s what you can do now:

If your Representative is on the Transportation Committee, call or email their office and ask them to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking.

Have you met with your Representative or Staff before? If so, take this opportunity to call their district office and make the same ask. Remind them of the positive things they said about biking and walking when you met with them before.

If your Representative is not on the Transportation Committee, you can still help. Learn more about the issue. Once it passes the Committee, the transportation bill will be on the House floor in a few weeks, where all the members will vote. We will need your help there!